23 September 2020, Geneva, Switzerland – UNITAR’s Division for People hosted the 4th session of the “Webinar Series Management Practices for Safer Roads” to kick-off Brazil’s National Road Safety Week and to raise awareness about practical interventions and best practices that contribute to improve road safety.

Dr. Deisi Kusztra, Member of UNITAR’s Board of Trustees and President of the World Family Organization, gave the opening remarks and highlighted the importance of remaining focused on issues like road safety during these unprecedented times. Dr. Kusztra also reflected on the importance of solid and proactive partnerships as these are instrumental to achieving effective, efficient and sustainable results: “It is through partnerships and by working together with international organizations, the private sector, academic institutions, NGOs and civil society that we will ensure concrete actions on road safety remain a priority.”  

The Webinar Series features the Management Practices for Safer Roads Toolkit, which is an interactive e-learning tool that presents a management methodology that can help improve road safety by:

• Identifying the number of deaths and injuries related to road traffic crashes and risk factors
• Identifying critical road locations or sections where excessive numbers of crashes occur
• Conducting safety assessments of existing road infrastructure
• Outlining engineering treatments and corrective measures to improve road safety

The 4th session of the Webinar Series was hosted in collaboration with the National Service of Industrial Learning in Paraná (Senai), AB InBev, Brazil’s National Traffic Department (Denatran) and the CIFAL Curitiba brought together 76 participants from governments, the private sector, academic institutions and road safety practitioners to learn about the Toolkit and its practical application in Brazil with positive outcomes.

General Director of Brazil’s National Traffic Department (DENATRAN), Mr. Frederico de Moura Carneiro, shared how Brasilia gained reductions in road traffic fatalities and injuries by analyzing crash data, identifying crash “hot spots” and improving the highest-risk roads.

The Toolkit presented in the webinar also highlights interventions implemented in other cities and countries including, China, Dominican Republic, India, Mexico and South Africa. It is based on the premise that achieving road safety targets requires, among others, improving existing road infrastructure for the benefit of all road users.

The Management Practices for Safer Roads Toolkit is now available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.